1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to containers with electromagnetic coupling modules, and more specifically, to a container with an electromagnetic coupling module having a radio IC chip used in an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, RFID systems, in which a reader/writer that generates an induction field contactlessly communicates with an IC chip (also referred to as an IC tag or a radio IC chip) that is attached to an article or a container and stores predetermined information to exchange information, have been developed as article management systems. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-67711 discloses an article having an electrically conductive antenna unit and an IC chip that are provided on an outer surface of a packaging container, such as a side surface or an upper surface of a cardboard box.
However, attachment of the antenna unit and the IC chip onto the outer surface of the packaging container has a problem in which the IC chip may be damaged by a shock caused when the IC chip is hit by another article during packaging, transfer, and/or storage. Additionally, the antenna unit and the IC chip must be arranged to overlap each other in an electrically conductive manner. Since the displacement in the overlapping state causes trouble in the transmission and reception quality of signals, it causes a problem in which high accuracy is required in the arrangement. Furthermore, since the IC chip is provided on a signal radiating surface of the antenna unit, there is also a problem that the IC chip disturbs a signal radiation characteristic of the antenna unit.